Joel Embiid vs. Pau Gasol Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Pau Gasol and Joel Embiid, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Joel Embiid played 10 years in the NBA, 8 less than Pau Gasol, who played 18. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Pau Gasol had his rookie season in 2001-02. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2016-17	2001-02
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783
difference:	+51	+11.3	+2.6	+0.9	+0.1	+1.1	+0.6	+0.4	+0.4	-1.1	-1.2	+0.2	+0.8	+.052	+1.2	+3.1	+.167	+2.1	+2.1	+.074
Pau Gasol	82	36.7	17.6	2.9	6.0	8.9	2.7	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	6.7	13.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.1	5.8	.709
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Joel Embiid nor Pau Gasol played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2017-18	2002-03
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769
difference:	+19	+5.7	+3.9		+2.3	+2.2	+0.4	+0.2		-1.1	-0.6	+1.2	+3.2	+.027	+1.0	+3.3	+.208	+0.6	+0.5	+.033
Pau Gasol	82	36.0	19.0	2.3	6.4	8.8	2.8	0.4	1.8	2.6	2.7	6.9	13.6	.510	0.0	0.1	.100	5.1	6.9	.736
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705
Pau Gasol	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2018-19	2003-04
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804
difference:	+14	+2.2	+9.8	+0.1	+6.0	+5.9	+1.2	+0.1	+0.2	-1.1	-0.9	+2.6	+5.3	+.002	+1.1	+3.9	+.033	+3.5	+3.5	+.090
Pau Gasol	78	31.5	17.7	2.6	5.1	7.7	2.5	0.6	1.7	2.4	2.4	6.5	13.4	.482	0.1	0.2	.267	4.7	6.6	.714
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822
difference:	+7	+3.1	+1.7	+0.9	+4.5	+5.5	+0.9	+0.3	+0.8	-2.3	-0.6	+0.8	+2.2	+.143	+1.1	+3.5		+2.2	+3.2	+.078
Pau Gasol	4	33.5	18.5	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.5	1.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	7.0	12.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	5.0	.900

Season 4
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2019-20	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807
difference:	+5	+2.5	+5.2	+0.5	+3.9	+4.3	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4	-0.7	-0.8	+1.1	+3.3	+.037	+1.1	+3.3	+.164	+1.9	+1.9	+.039
Pau Gasol	56	32.0	17.8	2.3	5.0	7.3	2.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	2.6	6.4	12.4	.514	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.6	.768
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814
difference:		+3.3	+8.7	+1.0	+5.7	+4.8	+1.2	+1.0	+0.5	-2.0	-1.5	+1.3	+1.5	+.029	+0.7	+3.7	+.750	+10.5	+11.8	+.314
Pau Gasol	4	33.0	21.3	3.8	3.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	1.8	1.8	3.0	9.8	20.0	.488	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.5	3.0	.500

Season 5
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2020-21	2005-06
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859
difference:	+29	+8.1	+8.1	+0.2	+1.9	+1.7	+1.8	+0.4	+0.5	-0.2	-0.1	+1.5	+2.7	+.010	+1.1	+2.8	+.127	+3.9	+3.0	+.170
Pau Gasol	80	39.2	20.4	2.4	6.5	8.9	4.6	0.6	1.9	2.9	2.3	7.5	14.9	.503	0.0	0.2	.250	5.3	7.7	.689
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835
difference:	+7	+7.0	+7.8	+0.5	+3.3	+3.7	+0.4	+0.5	+0.2	-1.0	-0.2	+1.9	+1.1	+.080	+1.5	+3.4	+.390	+2.5	+2.4	+.068
Pau Gasol	4	39.5	20.3	1.0	5.8	6.8	3.0	0.5	1.3	2.8	2.8	7.3	16.8	.433	0.0	0.3	.000	5.8	7.5	.767

Season 6
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2021-22	2006-07
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814
difference:	+9	+2.4	+9.8	+0.4	+2.3	+1.9	+0.8	+0.6	+0.6	-0.4	-0.4	+2.0	+5.1	+.039	+1.3	+3.5	+.098	+4.5	+5.0	+.066
Pau Gasol	59	36.2	20.8	2.5	7.3	9.8	3.4	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.3	7.8	14.5	.538	0.1	0.2	.273	5.1	6.8	.748
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820
Pau Gasol	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2022-23	2007-08
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857
difference:		+1.0	+14.2	+0.6	+2.4	+1.8	+1.0	+0.5	+0.2	-1.5	-1.0	+3.8	+6.6	+.014	+0.9	+2.8	+.080	+5.6	+6.2	+.050
Pau Gasol	66	35.6	18.9	2.3	6.0	8.4	3.2	0.5	1.5	1.9	2.1	7.2	13.5	.534	0.1	0.2	.250	4.4	5.5	.807
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905
difference:	+12	+2.5	+6.8	+0.8	+1.3	+0.5	+1.3	+0.2	+0.9	-1.8	-0.1	+0.6	+4.3	+.099	+0.6	+3.1		+5.0	+4.3	+.213
Pau Gasol	21	39.8	16.9	2.6	6.7	9.3	4.0	0.5	1.9	2.1	2.9	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.692

Season 8
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2023-24	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883
difference:	+42	+3.4	+15.8	+0.8	+2.2	+1.4	+2.1	+0.6	+0.7	-1.9	-0.8	+4.2	+8.9	+.038	+1.4	+3.6		+6.0	+6.2	+.102
Pau Gasol	81	37.0	18.9	3.2	6.4	9.6	3.5	0.6	1.0	1.9	2.1	7.3	12.9	.567	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	5.4	.781
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859
difference:	+17	+0.8	+14.7	+0.2	+0.2		+3.2	+0.4	+0.5	-2.3	-0.3	+2.8	+10.2	+.136	+2.2	+6.5		+6.9	+6.9	+.145
Pau Gasol	23	40.5	18.3	3.0	7.9	10.8	2.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	12.0	.580	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.1	.714

Season 9
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2024-25	2009-10
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	19	30.2	23.8	1.9	6.3	8.2	4.5	0.7	0.9	3.3	2.2	7.4	16.6	.444	1.2	4.1	.299	7.8	8.9	.882
difference:	+46	+6.8	+5.5	+1.8	+1.3	+3.1	+1.1	+0.1	+0.8	-1.1	-0.1	+0.4	+3.6	+.092	+1.2	+4.0	+.299	+3.4	+3.3	+.092
Pau Gasol	65	37.0	18.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	3.4	0.6	1.7	2.2	2.3	7.0	13.0	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	5.6	.790
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pau Gasol	23	39.7	19.6	4.0	7.1	11.1	3.5	0.4	2.1	1.9	2.7	7.2	13.3	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.9	.759

Season 10
	Joel Embiid	Pau Gasol
Season	2025-26	2010-11
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	4	22.3	17.3	1.3	4.0	5.3	3.5	0.5	1.0	2.8	2.0	5.8	12.5	.460	1.8	4.5	.389	4.0	5.0	.800
difference:	+78	+14.7	+1.5	+2.0	+2.9	+4.9	+0.2	+0.1	+0.6	-1.1	-0.5	+1.4	+1.2	+.069	+1.8	+4.5		+0.3	+0.2	+.023
Pau Gasol	82	37.0	18.8	3.3	6.9	10.2	3.3	0.6	1.6	1.7	2.5	7.2	13.7	.529	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.2	.823
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pau Gasol	10	35.8	13.1	3.2	4.6	7.8	3.8	0.4	1.7	1.7	3.3	4.7	11.2	.420	0.1	0.2	.500	3.6	4.5	.800

Additional Years
* Pau Gasol played 8 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 18, from 2012 to 2019—Pau Gasol played in 5 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over Joel Embiid, Pau Gasol got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Star Game